Piper's Sacrifice
by Kohala
Summary: A twist on "All Hell Breaks Loose" and "The Sixth Sense". Piper is sacrificed by the Elders as a warning to the two remaining Charmed Ones. Feel free to read & review. Updated: April 6, '09
1. Chapter 1

Our story takes place during "All Hell Breaks Loose"

Our story takes place during "All Hell Breaks Loose". I got the idea to change the story a bit, getting a bit of inspiration from The Sixth Sense. Nothing up to this point in the story has changed, so Piper and Leo are still married, Cole and Phoebe are dating, etc. I hope you enjoy the story and please leave some feedback to let me know what you think. Happy reading!!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to charmed, blah blah blah… on with the story.

--

Prue glared at the small TV in the kitchen. One of the girls she had gone to school with was on the local news explaining that Prue had cast a spell on her ex-boyfriend to make him fall in love with Prue instead. She couldn't believe how much news coverage she and Piper were getting since they were caught on camera during a demon vanquish.

"This is ridiculous!" she muttered as she walked into the conservatory. Piper followed closely behind with a stack of papers faxed from numerous TV shows and magazines requesting interviews in her hand.

Prue shouted Leo's name, demanding he orb into the manor to discuss the mess they were in. Within moments Leo appeared in the conservatory in a swirl of white lights. Prue heatedly ordered Leo to give them some idea as to how they could get rid of the press surrounding their house. They'd already had a woman break into the manor to see the infamous San Francisco witches.

"We have two options," Leo sighed. "Neither of which are going to be easy." Prue and Piper looked at him expectantly. "We can contact Tempus," Leo suggested.

"Tempus the demon?" Prue asked with a confused tone. "That's definitely not going to be easy."

"We vanquished him," Piper blurted.

"No," Leo corrected. "You defeated him, you didn't vanquish him, but that's not the real problem. The real trick is trying to contact him. He's an upper-level demon who's well insulated."

"Well, my vote is not having to work with a demon," said Prue matter-of-factly. "What is behind door number two?"

Leo looked from Prue to Piper and sighed. "We try to contact the cleaners," Leo replied. He examined the confused looks on both of the sisters' faces before explaining who the cleaners were and how they could help.

"That sounds better than working with Tempus," said Piper. "So, how do we find the cleaners and convince them to clean up the mess we've made?"

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to leave this plane to find them," replied Leo. "You won't be able to contact me if anything goes wrong."

"Honey, I really don't think anything worse could happen right now," Piper assured him. "You go and find the cleaners and Prue and I will hide out here until you get back." Leo nodded and kissed his wife before orbing out of the manor.

"So, now we wait," Prue sighed.

The street in front of the Halliwell manor was crawling with people, anxious to see the famous witches that had killed someone with their magical powers. The sounds of people shouting out to the witches echoed throughout the neighbourhood. Everyone wanted answers. Who were these people? Were they good or evil? Were they dangerous? Could they help someone win the lottery?

Through all of the commotion, young Alice Hicks sat in her van with arms crossed and a look of disgust on her face. She had tried to reach out to her sister witches and they'd used their powers on her to send her away. She'd been rejected by people her whole life, but never by those who practiced the art of witchcraft. Witches were supposed to stick together and live in harmony.

As she glared through the windshield at the Halliwell manor, something caught her eye. She looked up at the rearview mirror and noticed her boyfriend's hunting gear propped against the back door of her van. She turned around and made her way to the back of the van. Lifting her boyfriend's hunting jacket and placing it to the side, she found his unloaded rifle and a box of bullets.

The crowd had long since lost interest in Alice. They were so consumed in what was going on inside the manor that she had become somewhat of a ghost to them. Nothing she did brought any attention to herself from the members of the crowd. Without opening the door, she crawled through the window and onto the roof of her van with the rifle in her hand. She had loaded it while still inside and was now ready to take her revenge.

She stood up and stared through the window of the parlor. She could just make out the two girls she had spoken to earlier were propping a table against the door in a vane attempt to keep the crowd out. She stared at the two girls, trying to decide which one to pick off first. Her intent was to do away with the witch that had thrown her through the door with her power, but from a distance it was hard to tell them apart.

As the girls walked further into the conservatory and made their way into the parlor, Alice found she had the opportunity to shoot once and strike both girls at the same time. The girl in the purple blouse was standing with her back to Alice and right in front of the other sister. If she shot now, she could hit the sister in purple and her shot would go right through and hit the other sister.

She raised the gun and peered through the . She continued to go unnoticed by the crowd surrounding the manor. The girls inside were deep in conversation and they were clueless as to the danger they were in. Pulling the trigger, the rifle erupted and the bullet was sent toward its targets. Only then was Alice Hicks noticed by everyone around her.

Inside the manor, Prue was lecturing Piper about how much they had screwed up their destiny as the Charmed Ones. Clutching the book to her chest with her right hand, Prue emphasized the point she was making by snapping her fingers with her left hand. At the same moment that her fingers snapped against her palm, the gunshot could be heard.

Piper gasped as the bullet ripped through her back and out her stomach. The bullet continued making its way toward Prue, but disintegrated as it collided with the Book of Shadows. The book's protection powers had turned the bullet into dust before it could come close to hitting Prue.

Piper stood in shock, not knowing what had just happen. She could feel an intense press burning in her stomach unlike anything she had felt before. Prue stared at her sister and tried to read the expression on her face.

"What was that?" She asked. Following her sister's gaze, she watched as Piper slowly looked down at her own blood-soaked shirt and gasped for air. Both of their jaws dropped and Piper began trembling uncontrollably.

Piper stared in shock at the amount of blood saturating her blouse. She had had her hands on her hips before the bullet had plunged through her, so the backs of her hands were now covered with blood.

Piper had never been able to stand the sight of blood, especially her own. Even with all of the demon-fighting she and her sisters had done over the last three years, she still found herself unable to handle seeing her own blood. Her vision became blurred and dark and her heart beat loudly in her ears making it hard to hear anything else.

Without warning, Piper legs gave out and she lost consciousness. Prue dropped the Book of Shadows and wrapped her arms around Piper before she could fall to the floor. She could feel something warm trickling through her fingers and she pulled her hand away to find it dripping with her sister's blood. She had to fight back the urge to vomit as she looked at her hand.

Prue maneuvered Piper's limp body onto the floor. She pulled her close and desperately tried to wake her. She knew that if Piper remained unconscious she could slip away before they got help. She gently shook Piper's shoulders and patted her face until Piper's eyes slid open.

"Thank God," Prue breathed as Piper looked up at her finally. For a moment, Piper was confused as to how she had ended up on the floor, but as her stomach began throbbing the last few moments flooded quickly back into her memory. She looked down at her shirt and at her hands, which had begun to tremble again, and whimpered in pain. It felt as if someone was sitting on her chest and she found herself struggling to breathe.

Prue quickly grabbed one of the blankets from the sofa and pressed it against Piper's wound to stop the steady flow of escaping blood with Piper's every heartbeat. Piper quietly cried out and continued to stare at the blood that was drenching more and more of her shirt.

"I know," Prue comforted as she looked down at Piper with an expression of sympathy. "You're ok." She realized that not only was she trying to convince Piper that everything was going to be fine, but she was trying to convince herself as well. She struggled not to break down at continued to tell Piper she was ok. She rocked her sister in her arms and called out for Leo with a tone of desperation.

Within seconds Piper slipped into shock. She stared off into space and her pupils dilated and her breathing became more shallow and rapid as her respiratory system tried to compensate for the excess carbon dioxide building up in her blood stream.

Prue watched the rapid change in Piper and realized that they didn't have much time left. She screamed Leo's name one last time before deciding she needed to get Piper some medical attention.

"Ok, we have to get you to the hospital. Come on," Prue stated. Receiving no response from Piper, she pulled her sister to her feet and pulled her arm over her own shoulder to support her.

An intense pain ripped through Piper's body as she was force through the kitchen and out the back door toward Prue's car. She tried to help Prue by forcing herself to walk, but her legs refused to cooperate. They gave out on her a few times before they could reach the car. She was so focused on the pain consuming her body that she took no notice of the press and spectators surrounding the manor.

Prue opened the back door of her car and helped Piper inside. Piper crumpled onto the seat and clutched her stomach. A steady flow of blood trickled through her fingers and onto the leather seats of Prue's car.

After forcefully making a path through the crowd of people and driving through the barricade blocking their driveway, Prue pressed on the gas and sped through the otherwise quiet San Francisco streets. She shifted her rearview mirror so that she could keep an eye on Piper.

Piper was lying lifelessly in the back seat. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't really looking at anything and they had a glazed look to them. Keeping her left hand on the steering wheel, Prue took Piper's hand into hers and squeezed it. Piper blinked and looked up at Prue.

"You need to stay with me, ok," Prue stated. "Don't fall asleep and keep pressing on your wound." Piper looked down at her hand, which was still clutching her stomach. "Tell me the names of all of the demons we've vanquished," Prue suggested, trying to buy some time with Piper by keeping her coherent.

"Jeremy, Javna, Rex and Hannah, the dream sorcerer," Piper recited between labored breaths. Prue looked back at the street in front of her and listened while Piper named the demons and warlocks she could remember. She continued to hold Piper's hand, noticing how cold her sister's skin felt against her own.

She slowed the car to stop at a red light. She stared impatiently at the dozens of cars zipping passed then back at Piper. She cut Piper off just as she'd reached Tuartha and the Collectors.

"Do you think you can freeze?" Prue asked. She gently lifted Piper's arm and watched as Piper weakly flicked her fingers. The traffic surrounding them stopped where it was, allowing Prue to speed through the intersection and continue on their journey to the nearest hospital.

She raced into the parking lot of the hospital and stopped the car in front of the emergency entrance. A few of the doctors saw Prue rush out of the car to pull open the back door and ran out to see what had happened.

"She's been shot!" Prue exclaimed as the doctors and nurses rushed to her side. One of the doctors leaned into the car and lifted Piper into his arms while the others ran to get a gurney.

Piper's head fell back limply and the hand that she was pressing against her wound hung at her side. Prue held Piper's head up and kissed her cheek.

"Litvak," Piper mumbled absently, "Kirken." The doctor looked down at Piper and frowned.

"Good girl," Prue encouraged. "Keep going." The doctor quickly placed Piper on the gurney as it was pushed outside. They pulled the safety rails into place and rushed Piper inside. Prue grabbed hold of Piper's hand and followed along beside the gurney.

"Where is Dr. Griffith? He was supposed to be here by now!" Prue demanded as one of the nurses approached the gurney.

"How did this happen?" Dr. Griffith asked as he reached the girls.

"Some idiot in front of our house," Prue replied.

She listened as the medical staff began shouting Piper's vitals and condition and watched as Piper was lifted onto a surgical table. She ran to Piper's side and held her hand between her own. Piper was shaking uncontrollably and her skin was pale and turning blue from the lack of oxygen entering her body.

The head nurse placed two electrodes on Piper's chest to monitor her heart rate while Dr. Griffith listened to Piper's lungs through a stethoscope. He ordered one of the doctors to retrieve a bag of blood to start a transfusion. Piper had lost a great deal of blood which would need to be replaced quickly if she was to survive. She'd already slipped into the second state of shock and wasn't far from stage three.

Prue looked up and attempted to call Leo once more. "He can't hear you," Piper gasped softly. Prue had to kneel closer to Piper in order to hear her. Piper squeezed Prue's hand and turned to look at her. "Leo… something must have gone wrong."

Prue shook her head and watched Piper cry out as Dr. Griffith pushed adrenaline into her body through her arm through a syringe. Piper could feel the change in her heart rate as it beat against the inside of her chest making it even harder to breathe.

Piper, you made it here. Don't you dare die on me," Prue warned. She thought that if she could get Piper to fight to stay alive, Leo would come and heal her.

Piper looked sadly up at her sister. "Prue… I'm cold," she whimpered. Her body was beginning to shut down as she entered the third stage of hypovolemic shock. Prue broke down and looked desperately over at the doctors, wanting them to do something that could help Piper.

Piper struggled to catch her breath. "I can't feel my legs," she gasped. Prue clung to Piper's hand and cried. She hated the feeling that she had no control.

Piper's vision was beginning to fade. As Prue knelt closer to the edge of the bed, she disappeared from Piper's line of vision. "Don't go," Piper pleaded. Prue quickly knelt closer to Piper's head and squeezed her hand to let her know that she was still there.

Piper could feel her lungs start to give out. Her body stopped shaking as she gasped for her last few breaths. Struggling to hang on for just a few seconds longer, she tried to squeeze Prue back. A single tear slipped down the side of her face as she took one last look at her big sister. "I love you."

Prue watched as Piper's body became still. Her little sister stared lifelessly up at the ceiling and her hand became limp in her grasp. The monitor that had once had a somewhat steady rhythm was now screaming as Piper flat-lined. The doctors began rushing around, gathering the defibrillator and pulling it over to Piper's bedside. Prue stepped back and let the doctors attempt to bring Piper back.

The paddles were pressed against either side of Piper's chest and the electrical current was sent through her body, making her entire body tense. Her chest came off of the bed and her head curved back lifelessly. The last bit of air left in her lungs was pushed passed her vocal chord, making Piper gasp as her body hit the bed.

Prue watched hopefully, thinking that they had been able to revive Piper, but the heart monitor continued to squeal, unable to pick up any rhythmic beating within Piper's body. She continued to watch as Dr. Griffith attempted to start Piper's heart a second time.

Dr. Griffith kept an eye on the heart monitor. Not seeing any change, he looked sadly over at Prue. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Prue broke down and collapsed against Piper's body. She grabbed Piper's hand and gently forced her eyes closed. She couldn't stand seeing Piper's eyes, which were moments ago full of life and now completely empty and glazed.

As Prue mourned the death of her sister, a bright light covered all of San Francisco. The cleaners had agreed to clean up the mess made by Piper and Prue. In a few seconds, the entire population completely forgot about the witches on Prescott Street and returned to their everyday lives.

Unfortunately, not all of the day's events had been erased. Alice Hicks was still sent to prison for first degree murder. She was able to plead insanity because she couldn't remember the events leading up to the shooting.

Leo orbed into the hospital unnoticed to find his wife's body lying across a surgical table and Prue hysterically holding on to Piper's hand.

--

Prue and Leo orbed into the attic. Prue refused to speak. She couldn't believe that Leo couldn't heal Piper. He'd brought her back from the dead before, sacrificing his powers in the process, but she would gladly give up Leo's powers to have Piper back again.

Phoebe ran up to the attic, pulling Cole close behind. She had a huge grin on her face as she ran through the door and wrapped her arms around him. "Look who I found!" she said happily. Her smile quickly faded when she noticed the amount of blood on her eldest sister. "Oh, my God, Prue. What happened?"

"It's ok," said Prue, not looking up from the book of shadows. "I'm going to fix it."

"Fix what?" Phoebe asked with a hint of fear in her voice. She looked around the room tearfully. "Where's Piper?" Prue shook her head and bit her bottom lip to keep from crying.

Phoebe burst into tears and clung to Cole. She couldn't understand what had happened. She had gone to the underworld for less than an hour to get Cole back and now her sister was dead.

Prue stopped at a page in the Book of Shadows that they had looked at a hundred times before. Phoebe looked over at her as she began chanting the familiar spell.

"Cross now the great divide," Prue whimpered. Within seconds a figure began to appear in the center of the room. Prue stared in disbelief as her Grams stood before her.

"Grams, where's Piper," Phoebe whimpered. Penny Halliwell looked at each person in the room with a perplexed expression.

"Phoebe, what are you talking about?" Grams asked finally. Prue walked closer to Phoebe and wrapped her arm around her.

"Piper was murdered, Grams," Prue replied tearfully. Phoebe looked over at Prue in disbelief. "Can we see her for just a moment? Just to say goodbye and make sure she's all right."

"I don't know what to say," Grams stuttered. "I would have thought I would have been the first to know that Piper had died. I haven't heard anything." Phoebe pleaded with her Grams to go check on Piper. Grams was happy to oblige and disappeared from the room as quickly as she had come.

"Something's not right," said Leo. The girls looked over at him questioningly awaiting his explanation. "Grams would know that Piper was dead the moment it happened. This just doesn't make sense." He let the sisters know that he would talk to the Elders before orbing out of sight. Cole remained quiet, unsure of what was going on and what he should do to help.

Grams quickly reappeared where she had been standing previously. She looked at the girls with concern and explained that Piper had never arrived.

"If she's not up there with you, then…" Phoebe began, looking down at the floor.

"No, it's not possible," Grams interrupted before Phoebe could finish. "Piper never did anything to deserve to go there. Are you sure she's dead." Prue nodded, picturing Leo trying to heal Piper and reassuring her that she had passed on.

"They're not allowing her to move on," Leo said suddenly as he orbed back into the room. "She's being punished by the Elders." He was fuming and heartbroken at the same time.

He explained that the Elders had decided to refuse to let Piper move on in order to punish her and her sisters for going against the Elders' wishes so many times and for marrying a whitelighter. Although they had eventually given Piper and Leo permission to marry, they had only done so to prevent them from sneaking off the get married without their consent.

"They said something about 'slaughtering one to save the herd'," Leo snapped.

"But that's not fair!" Phoebe cried. "They can't punish Piper for the things that we've all done."

"Don't you think I know that!" Leo exclaimed. "They're punishing her for marrying me! I don't understand why they couldn't punish me instead. They refuse to change their minds."

"So go to the ghostly plane and bring her back," Grams said matter-of-factly. "It's simple really."

Leo shook his head and stared at the floor. "She's not in the ghostly plane. She's in the spirit plane."

"What does that mean?" Prue asked angrily.

"It means I can't bring her back," Leo replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry for the delay folks. I wasn't sure how I wanted to continue from chapter one, but I think this works pretty well. Sorry if the story seems to rush. I'm not overly happy with it, but it'll do for now. More to come!!

-------

Phoebe stormed out of the attack and slammed the door, missing Cole's face by merely an inch. He pulled the door open and followed her down to the main floor of the manor. Before she could open the front door and wander aimlessly into the dark street, Cole pulled Phoebe close and squeezed her tightly.

"This can't be happening," Phoebe sobbed. She clung to Cole and buried her face into his chest. "I was gone for less than an hour. I should have been here to help. If I had stayed here, Piper would still be alive!"

"There's nothing you could have done," said Cole. "She wasn't killed by anything supernatural."

"We have to bring her back," said Phoebe. Her tone had changed drastically. She was no longer breaking down. Her facial expressions had hardened and had a look of determination. "Whatever it takes. I _will_ get Piper back."

Cole remained silent. He had no idea what Phoebe was thinking and he knew better than to ask. He knew that anyone crazy enough to come between the Halliwell sisters was doomed to suffer very painful consequences.

-----

Piper wandered up the front steps of the manor. She had no recollection of where she had been or what had happened after she had arrived at the hospital. She couldn't even remember how she had gotten home. It didn't seem to bother her though. She didn't really give it much thought. As far as she was concerned, everything was completely normal.

She pulled open the front door and walked into the entry way of the manor. She looked up at Phoebe and Cole and smiled as she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry I'm late," said Piper. "I've completely lost track of time today. I'm going to run and have a shower and then I'll make some dinner." She ran up the staircase toward the upstairs bathroom.

Cole and Phoebe stared blankly at the front door of the manor. They couldn't see Piper. All they had seen was the door open and close on its own.

"What the hell was that?" Phoebe whispered.

"Invisible demon?" Cole whispered back as a suggestion. Phoebe shrugged and continued to stare at the door.

"Piper?" Phoebe gasped. She could feel her heart begin beating wildly in her chest. Cole raised one eyebrow and looked down at Phoebe doubtfully. Phoebe rolled her eyes and pulled Cole back upstairs to the attic.

Prue jumped as the attic door flew open. She and Leo looked over at Phoebe and Cole as they rushed into the attic and shut the door behind them.

"I think Piper's here," Phoebe gasped excitedly. "The front door just opened and closed on its own."

Prue stared at Phoebe in disbelief before looking over at Leo for some answers.

"Did you maybe consider it could have been a demon?" Prue hissed as she checked the attic door to make sure it was locked. "The Power of Three has just been drastically weakened. I'm sure there's quite an uproar in the underworld right now. It's the perfect time to come and attack us."

Phoebe crossed her arms and looked over at Prue angrily. "Demons generally don't use doors, Prue," she spat matter-of-factly. "They're usually a lot more discreet than that. Why be invisible if they're just going to give themselves away by opening and closing doors?"

Prue sighed and shrugged her shoulders in defeat.

"I think Phoebe might be right," Leo interjected. "If Piper's in the Spirit Plane, she can still interact with the objects around her. It happens a lot actually. Most hauntings are actually caused by the spirits stuck in the Spirit Plane."

"OK, I think you need to explain the difference between the Spirit Realm and The Ghostly Plane because I am now completely confused," said Phoebe.

Leo nodded and continued to explain the difference between the two planes. "The Ghostly Plane is where all spirits go between life and death," he explained. "Spirits will meet with Death and will be escorted to either Heaven or Hell. If they have unfinished business or refuse to move on, the spirits will then become a part of the Spirit Plane. In the Spirit Plane, spirits usually don't know that they're dead and they will try to interact with the world as they did when they were alive. Because they can't be seen, they can't actually interact with most of the people around them, which causes them to become distressed or angry, which in turn affects the temperature in the room they're in."

"So, the girl that was killed by a demon in the library before, she was in the Spirit Plane?" Phoebe enquired. Leo nodded. "Then why could I see her and not Piper?"

"She was an innocent," replied Leo. "You were meant to see her in order to help her. With your powers, you have a better chance of seeing those in the Spirit Plane than most people."

"So if I can tap into my power, I might be able to see Piper?" Phoebe asked excitedly. At last they were getting somewhere. Leo looked doubtful, but Phoebe ignored him. She ran to her room and shut her door. She wanted to meditate and attempt to develop her power without any distractions.

"How are going to bring Piper back without bringing attention to ourselves?" Cole asked suddenly. "I'm assuming that if she died in a hospital there were people that saw her die."

"Memory dust!" Prue gasped, looking over at Leo. "That dust that Sam used on us to forget about the summer camp. You could use that on the doctors that worked on Piper."

"What about her body?" Leo asked. "We can't keep her here. Her body isn't going stay… fresh." Prue grimaced and glared at Leo.

"So we keep her on ice," Prue replied. "We'll get Daryl to register her as a Jane Doe at the morgue until we figure out how to bring her back." Leo sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing with Prue. It was best to remain on her good side, especially now that he didn't have Piper as a buffer between himself and Prue. Piper had no idea how important her role was within their family.

---

Piper wandered down to the kitchen, ready to prepare and elaborate dinner. As she pulled the materials she needed from the cupboards, she realized she was missing too many key ingredients to continue. She would need to run to the market if she was to continue creating dinner.

Before she could leave the manor, she could hear Prue on the phone in the other room ordering Chinese food. She sighed and walked into the foyer.

"Prue, I'm about to cook supper," Piper said as she crossed her arms. Prue turned away from her and continued to place her order over the phone. Piper clenched her fists and sighed as she went back to the kitchen to put everything away.

Prue replaced the phone in its cradle and shivered. The temperature in the room had decreased dramatically and she could feel the hair on the back of her neck pull away from her skin. She rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself and checked the thermostat on the wall before checking her wallet to make sure she had money for the delivery guy.


	3. Chapter 3

With her arms folded to keep herself warm, Prue wandered over to the doorway of the parlor. She stared at the old-fashioned rug in the center of the room. There was a pool of blood on the hardwood floor next to it and a surprisingly small amount had actually saturated into the rug itself. There was also a trail of Piper's blood leading from that spot to the back door in the direction where Prue had dragged her sister outside.

She walked slowly toward the kitchen and gathered a clean cloth and soapy water before getting onto her hands and knees and wiping the floor. As she mindlessly scrubbed away the last couple of hours, she found her vision was becoming blurred by the build up of tears along her bottom eyelids. Halfway through her task she threw the cloth aside and buried her face in her hands.

Leo and Cole walked slowly down the staircase and watched as Prue broke down. Leo knelt beside her and wrapped his arms around her. Prue leaned into Leo and cried into his shirt.

"We're going to bring her back," he said softly. "I promise." Prue nodded. She knew he meant well, but it seemed hopeless. As far as they knew, there was no possible way to bring someone back from the Spirit plane.

"Why don't you go get washed up and Leo and I will finish cleaning up," Cole suggested. He could see how hard it was on Prue to have to clean the mess left on the floor. Prue nodded and pulled herself off of the floor. She mumbled a quiet "thank you" before walking up the stairs and into the bathroom.

As Prue disappeared up the steps, Leo looked up at the ceiling. He could hear a persistent jingling within his head that informed him that someone was looking for him. "I'll be right back," he said softly as he stared down at the mess on the floor. "Can you keep an eye on the girls for me?" Cole nodded and watched as Leo disappeared amongst a swirl of white lights.

Cole gazed up at the stairs. He really didn't want to have to clean the mess up on his own, so he opted to go and check on Phoebe and Prue instead. He grabbed a hold of the railing and let his hand slide up its smooth, polished surface as he slowly ascended the stairs. He couldn't recall the last time he'd heard the manor so quiet when the girls were at home.

Piper wandered into the sitting area and looked down at the mess on the floor. She couldn't remember any of the day's previous events and, oddly enough, didn't question how the blood had been spilled. Without question, she made her way into the kitchen to fill a bucket with soapy water and proceeded to wash the floor. Cleaning was such a natural thing to her that she never once considered what had happened. She mindlessly scrubbed the floor until the mess was completely washed away.

Cole opened the door to Phoebe's room just enough so that he could see her sitting on her bed. He pushed the door open the remainder of the way and stepped inside as quietly as possible. Phoebe was sitting silently on the bed, deep in her meditation. She hadn't even noticed Cole enter her room.

Cole softly cleared his throat to casually let Phoebe no that she was no longer alone in her bedroom. Phoebe's eyes snapped open and she turned to look over at Cole, who was standing apprehensively at her bedroom door. She flashed him a weak smile and patted the bed next to her, signaling him to sit down.

As Cole sat down, Phoebe could feel the mattress sink beneath her under his weight. She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder, letting his body heat comfort her.

"I don't know what else to do," she sighed. "I've never had to work to see a ghost before. I've just always seen them."

"Those ghosts were innocents," Cole replied as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "You were meant to see them because they needed your help."

"Piper needs my help," Phoebe grumbled. "Because of them." She stared skyward with a look of absolute loathing. Cole nodded.

"We'll fix it," he assured her. "At least we know Piper's not going anywhere. She's not in any danger." Phoebe sighed and entangled her fingers between Cole's. They sat in silence for a few moments before a gentle tapping at the door interrupted the quiet.

The door slowly slid open and Leo appeared in the doorway. "Hey, that was quick." Leo exclaimed. Cole looked at Leo with an expression of confusion. Leo immediately understood that Cole had no idea what he was talking about. "The mess downstairs," Leo explained. "It didn't take you long to clean it up."

Cole shook his head. "I haven't started cleaning yet," Cole explained. Leo frowned, but quickly realized what must have happened.

"I think I may have found a way to communicate with Piper," said Leo. "I was called by another whitelighter that had heard about our situation. He has a charge that recently came into his powers and can communicate with the dead." Phoebe looked up at Leo hopefully.

"I'm sorry Phoebe," said Leo. "I know you were working really hard to advance your powers, but I really think this could help us out sooner." Phoebe smiled and let Leo know that she was willing to accept the help.

Before making a concrete decision amongst themselves, they decided to move to Prue's bedroom and discuss the new option with her.

"His name is Cole Sear," Leo explained as the four of them sat in Prue's room. "He's had his power for most of his life, but only recently learned how to control it and understand it. We'll have to convince his mom to let him come to San Francisco to help us out, but I'm pretty sure she'll understand."

"He's so young," Prue exclaimed as she looked at a photo that Leo had provided them.

"He's about eleven years old, but he's very mature for his age," said Leo. "He's also very good with his gift. He'll be the best person to let Piper know what is going on."

-----

It didn't take much convincing to get Mrs. Sear to take Cole to San Francisco. The sisters offered to pay the travel expenses and invited them to stay at the manor during their stay. Mother and son were able to arrive within two days of receiving the call for help.

Prue and Phoebe welcomed the two of them into their home and gave them the tour of the manor as soon as they arrived. While Mrs. Sear and the two sisters went upstairs to unpack and get Cole and his mother settled into Prue's bedroom, Cole continued to wander around the manor in search of Piper.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I've had the worse case of writer's block. I ended up bringing Cole into the story way too soon and haven't been able to figure out where to go with the story. . I hope this chapter tides you over for a bit. I'm already working on the next chapter for you!

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Halliwell manor stood silently in the dark night. The occupants of the manor had turned in for the night hours before having had no luck communicating with Piper. Cole and his mother were sleeping soundly in Phoebe's bedroom while Phoebe bunked with Prue for the night. Leo had started the night off in his and Piper's bed, but was called to his Whitelighter duty before he'd had a chance to fall asleep.

Phoebe pulled Prue's comforter up to her chin and sighed as she stared into the darkness. Her mind had been too busy that night to allow her any sleep. She was so disappointed with herself and with her power. She felt somehow that she was letting Piper down and she couldn't help thinking it would be up to her to contact Piper. She had nothing against Cole and his powers, but she was beginning to feel incompetent with her own powers compared to him.

Unable to stay in bed any longer, Phoebe slipped quietly out of bed and wandered up to the attic. She slowly made her way through the darkened room toward the antique chest pushed against the wall below one of the large windows. Opening the chest, Phoebe felt around for a few candlesticks and butane lighter. The room was soon illuminated b the soft light created by the flickering, yellow flames. Phoebe lifted the Book of Shadows from its pedestal and sat on one of the old sofas.

Piper wandered quietly into the manor after working a double shift at P3. She had been shocked that neither of her sisters had shown up that night. They'd been at the club almost every Friday night since they'd opened P3. Piper had spent her night alone in her office filling out the never-ending paperwork required to keep P3 up and running.

Strangely, Piper didn't question how she'd arrived home. She never thought about driving form place to place. She merely appeared where she intended to be. This was a natural phenomenon in the Spirit Plane. It kept the spirits from realizing that they weren't actually living their normal lives anymore.

Piper wandered up the staircase and into the bedroom she shared with Leo. He was already sleeping on his side of the bed and hogging all of the covers, as usual. Piper slipped into bed beside him and pulled some of the covers over herself. She breathed in the smell of him and closed her eyes. As she fell into a deep sleep, her spirit began to fade away until she could no longer be seen or heard by those with the ability to see spirits; another phenomenon of the Spirit Plane .

----

Prue made her way quietly up the stairs to the attic. She gently pushed the door open and peered inside. Phoebe had fallen asleep with her head tilted awkwardly over the back of the sofa. The Book of Shadows was balancing on her leg, ready to fall at any moment. Prue smiled and walked toward her. As she lifted the large book from Phoebe's lap, Phoebe gasped and shot up, suddenly wide awake.

"Sorry," Prue whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

Phoebe rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around the room. "What time is it?" she mumbled.

"Almost nine," Prue replied as she set the Book of Shadows back on its pedestal. "When did you come up here?"

"Last night," replied Phoebe. "I was having trouble sleeping." Prue nodded and wrapped one arm around Phoebe.

"Did you find anything?" Prue asked. Phoebe frowned and looked at Prue with a look of confusion. "In the Book of Shadows."

"Oh," Phoebe laughed. "Not yet, but there's got to be something in there that can help Piper." Prue nodded doubtfully. The book had been written by witches in the Halliwell family from the beginning of their witch-hood. She highly doubted that any of their ancestors had to bring some back from the dead because of the Elders.

"Don't give up on her, Prue," said Phoebe seriously. "There has to be a way."

"And we won't give up until we get her back," Prue encouraged, squeezing Phoebe tighter. "But we should give Cole a chance to try his magic." Phoebe nodded and followed Prue.

"Good morning girls," said Piper with a smile as she passed them on her way up to the attic. "Is something going on?" Prue and Phoebe continued to walk passed her without acknowledging her presence. Piper stopped at the top stair and watched as her sisters disappeared around the corner. It was unusual for Prue and Phoebe to keep her in the dark when it came to magic and even more unusual for them to completely ignore her. Her brain began to race, trying to figure out if she had done something to make her sisters mad. She couldn't think of anything.

She continued her journey toward the attic and made her way over to the Book of Shadows, hoping to find some indication of what her sisters had been researching last. She tried not to over-analyze her sisters' behavior, but was finding her feelings more hurt than she'd ever let on.


End file.
